Ancient Egypt, Today!
by Caisu
Summary: One of Seto's latest Duel Disks 'malfunctions' and leaves him with a pet 'Blue Eyes' and flying lessons from Joey! Afterwards he has Shadow Magic and an old life to live, where he's takeing orders from Yami!
1. The Blue Eyes White Dragon

Ancient Egypt, today! Hey, back with my third fic, my friend, Megan, gave me the idea for this fic, so I'm dedicating it to her. Anyway, now that's over with, on with the fic. Disclaimer: I don't own yugioh. ########################################################################### ############### Setos' latest duel disk was finally ready. He'd been working on it for at least two years, and it was finally ready at last. He placed his favorite card, the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' on the duel disk to test the holographic generators. 'Hum, working well' he thought as he admired the 'projection'. The tests complete, he removed the card and shut down the duel disk. Funny, the 'projection' was still there. He went up to his dragon, and gently touched it. If it was a hologram, his hand would pass right through it. The dragons' scales were silvery and smooth; his hand rested gently on them as he gently stroked the dragon he had been longing to own since he first saw the card. His heart jumped. How was he supposed to care for a dragon?! What did it eat, where would it sleep? His mind was buzzing with a million questions. One thing that troubled him more than the rest, though, was the fact that he didn't think other people or police would be too happy with him keeping a dragon for a pet.  
  
A technician entered with Mokuba; they spotted the dragon and froze. Mokuba shook himself, "Good hologram bro.!" he said, beginning to walk over to his brother. "This," Seto said, again running his hand over the dragon that was now rubbing him with it's nose, stretching it's wings, "is no hologram, something went wrong with the program, and," he paused again, knowing how strange this was going to sound, "well, this dragon's alive." "What?!" shouted Mokuba, taking a few steps back, "what do you mean ALIVE!!!" "Come here" Seto said. Mokuba hesitated. "It won't hurt you" Mokuba slowly went up to his brother, who put his hand on the back of Mokubas', placing their hands on the dragon. The 'Blue Eyes' snorted, but stood still while Mokuba ran his fingers over it. "You know you won't be able to keep it. Mokuba said. "I can't kill it" his brother stated, looking at Mokuba as though he was insane. "Well, it's just not possible to keep a dragon in this day and age" Mokuba said, taking his hand of the dragon and turning to Seto. "I am not destroying it!" Seto yelled back, as the dragon bent down and snorted in Setos' ear, gently nudging him with its nose. Mokuba watched, seeing a joy in his brothers' eyes, a happiness light his face, that he had not seen since the had left the orphanage. "Well, I suppose if you really want to keep it, we should talk to Yami." Mokuba said, he really did not want to kill the delight dancing on his brothers' face. Seto turned to him "Yami?" he questioned, "why should we talk to Yami?" "Because Yami lived in ancient Egypt and as the monsters were alive then, he should know how to care for it." Mokuba explained, although he was explaining to a very dim child that one plus one equaled two.  
  
As they couldn't get the dragon out of any of the doors of Kaiba Corp., they called Yami into the company. As the dragon saw him, it reared, preparing its 'white lightening blast'. Seto rubbed its silvery side, talking softly to it, and reluctantly, it powered down, looking as though it had been denied a great treat. Seto walked over to Yami "I see you've met my new pet" "Pet," said Yami incredulously, "you mean it's alive!" "Yep" Seto said, joy once again dancing across his face "so, how do I look after it, I mean, what will it eat?" "Eat," squeaked yami, "eat, you mean your serious about keeping it?!" "Yes, that's why I called you, I can't kill it, so I'm keeping it." Seto said, still looking as though this was the obvious solution. "Seto, you can not keep a dragon of all things for a pet!!!" I don't know how you intend to get rid of it, but you'd better find a way." Yami shouted, looking at Seto as though he was insane. "I'm not killing it yami, now tell me how to care for it!" Seto retaliated. Yami turned, looking to Mokuba for support but he shook his head "I've already tried Yami, just tell us how to care for this 'Blue Eyes'" Mokuba pleaded; though it looked as though it was against his better judgement. "Oh alright," yami sighed "chuck us one of those duel disks then." Seto frowned "Why?" "So I can feed your dragon" yami stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Seto handed one of his newest duel disks to yami who sorted through his deck and took out two cards. Yami then played his koribo (sp.?) and multiply cards and soon the 'Blue Eyes' was eating happily. "Thank you for your help" Seto said. And yami saw, for the first time since he'd met Seto, a smile grace the young mans face. Not his usual smirk, but a proper smile. Yami smiled back, then voiced a question he wondering since he first saw the Blue Eyes. "Seto, can I 'borrow' one of those duel disks?" "Why?" Seto questioned, he could guess why yami wanted one of his duel disks, but he only had one at the moment, and he needed it. "Well, I've always wanted to meet my Dark Magician." Yami replied, he looked slightly nervous. "I would, but, I only have one." Seto turned back to his dragon and ran his hand down to its wings. The dragon spread its wings and bent low. Seto turned to yami, a confused look on his face. "It wants you to ride it. yami stated "Ride it?" Seto said, looking back to his dragon, but yami wasn't looking at him, he was fingering a small golden ring with the millennium eye emblazoned on it. "Err, yami, how do I ride it?" Seto asked, he couldn't keep the slight fear out of his eyes. "Well, you'd better talk to Joey if you want to learn to ride it," and in answer to setos' disgusted and questioning look, "Joey was the tied-best dragon rider in ancient Egypt." "I'm not letting the mutt teach me anything" Seto replied angrily. At this, the blue eyes, which had been quietly nibbling at his ear, bit down, hard. This made Seto yelp in pain. "What did it do that for?" he asked, rubbing his ear. Yami took a deep breath before he spoke. "You and Joey were best friends in Egypt, you were also main rivals for the title of best dragon rider in Egypt, but you gave up fighting each other when you realized neither was going to beat the other." Yami knew he was likely to die pretty soon from that statement. "Best friends! Me and the mutt?! You've got to be kidding me!" Seto gasped between laughter. "You may not want to believe it Seto, but it's true." Yami said pulling out his cell phone and calling Joey. He quickly explained the situation and hung up, muttering about low credit. "He's coming over, he said you'd have to let him summon his red eyes if you wanted him to teach you." "Fine, I suppose" Seto said. 


	2. Aerobatics

O.O Gomen nasai! I am sooooo sorry this took so long! I am also reaallyyyy sorry if this story sucks more than a hoover. -- Anyway, some of you like it, that's why I'm about to write your replies!

O.o The Yu-Gi-Oh Freak o.: Glad you like! Here's the update!

heath 999: I didn't think it was that funny... &shrugs& You like it, so I'm happy!

Star Girl11: I'm begining to doubt this story, Personally, I think it sucks. -- the only reason I haven't deleated it was 'cause I got a load of reviews. Anyway, here's the update, before I put you off reading!

Botan Mai Kai: O.o Yes, Joey and Seto friends. I'm going lightly on them. They're my fave. couple, but not in this, they just tolerate each other, and maybe become friends. I'm not sure yet. But I agree with you about how people who are the same fight, if you look, you see it everywhere, not just in shows.

Sailor-z-360:O.o People like what i think is my worst story! YAY!!

Mad Elk Gurl: That's kinda a habit I have. -- I just wanted to get it up, and I hadn't been writeing for long when I posted the first chapter. But now, I've been writeing for months so I don't do that any more. I know how annoying it is. And I acctually thought I was gonna get flamed for copying someone! Glad I didn't!

And now a general note: Enjoy the fic! Once again, I'm reaallly sorry for not updateing, also, I'm sorry if this story sucks like a hoover, but if you all like it, I'll write more, regardless of my opions. It's the readers that count in my opinion! R&R at the bottom! ENJOY!!!

########################################################################

Soon a 'Red Eyes Black Dragon' and a 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' stood outside, beside a very angry Seto and a demolished side of Kaiba Corp.  
  
"If this corporation falls down 'cause of that you'll be paying for repairs!" Seto muttered as he glanced back at the remainder of the testing room.  
  
"yeah, yeah, ok, alright. Seto, before we start, you have to listed to what I say, this is a dangerous sport, so you have to listen carefully to what I say and follow my instructions exactly." Joey said authorelitivly.  
  
"Fine, I will, but only 'cause I don't want to die." Seto said grudgingly.  
  
"Good" Joey said, taking two saddles off the back of his bike, (A/N: dun ask where he got them, he just had them --.) he threw one to Seto and quickly saddled up his 'Red Eyes' before helping Seto.  
  
"We could ride bare back, but it's hard, and I'd rather both of us get used to being back on dragons before we try that." Joey said, as he tightened the last buckle then whispered in the dragon's ear,  
  
"Ok Silver, no aerobatics, take it easy, ok." Silver (Seto's 'Blue Eyes') moved her head in a nodding motion and hopped onto Flame, (Joey's 'Red Eyes') he quickly showed Seto the reign movements and then kicked Flame behind his wings and he took off as Seto followed suit.  
  
####################################### Seto's POV ####################################  
  
Whoa! Reality check. Am I flying on the back of a real 'blue eyes white dragon' called Silver? I look down, err, yep. I'm miles above Domino on the back of a real 'blue eyes white dragon' taking orders from the Mutt who is riding a real 'Red eyes black dragon'. God I'm going crazy and... whoa! Not funny. Note to self, check weather forecast before going flying on Silver. Hang on, that wasn't turbulence...  
  
######################################## Normal POV ##################################  
  
"Silver, I told you, no aerobatics!" Joey yelled, flying up beside Silver and Seto.  
  
"Aerobatics?" Seto questioned, turning to look at Joey.  
  
"Yeah, you and Silver were Egyptian champs! Land, then I can talk to you properly." Joey shouted back, going into a spectacular dive, pulling out at the last moment and dismounting easily. Seto followed and got off, noticing that saddle riding wasn't the most comfortable way.  
  
Joey walked up to him and said,  
  
"Why don't you let me show you? I was second best."  
  
"Err... ok, I suppose, but will Silver let you?" Seto asked worriedly; looking fondly at his dragon.  
  
"Yeah, she should." Joey said, walking over to Silver and jumping on as Mokuba came over to stand by his brother.  
  
Joey took off, he flew up high, then dived, pulling Silver into a loop and at the peek, when he was upside down, and he jumped. Silver followed the loop through and Joey landed Soundly back in the saddle, flipping, looping and diving before finally landing back next to Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"And you were second best." Seto muttered looking at Joey.  
  
"I don't think I could compete with that without a lot of practice."  
  
"You'll be able to." Joey said, before Mokuba butted in.  
  
"No you won't! you could die if you got any of that even a little bit wrong! Not that I don't think you could do it!" he added quickly, quailing under Seto's furious stare.  
  
"But... I don't want to lose you." Seto ruffled his little brother's hair, speaking calmly to him, he said,  
  
"You won't lose me, if Joey could pick this up after 5000 years, I think I can."  
  
"I...I... fine! You do this, but if you die, I will never forgive you! I'm going home." Seto moved to follow Mokuba, but Joey put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Leave him, Seto. He'll come to his senses, come on. Once you get back on Silver you'll feel better, I'll start helping you remember how to do those aerobatics."  
  
"Ok." Seto replied, watching his little brother disappear into the remains of Kaiba Corp's. building.  
  
He remounted Silver, this time with ease, and was soon diving and twirling around with Joey.  
  
"See, you picked it up pretty quick!" Joey shouted as Seto did a loop, spiraling down towards the ground and jumping off, landing firmly.  
  
"Guess I did." He said grinning as a thought entered his head.


	3. Races And Shadow Magic

Hello! Right, I'm going experimental here, so if this goes really wrong and i end up deleting it and trying somthnig else or you don't like the way the story's going, I'll change it. Now for the reviews!:

sailor-z-360: Hope you still think so after this chapter!

Kage Koutetsu Yume: Hehe, thanks!

tikkiadams: Here's the update so you can se if you still like it!

BloodMistress: Here's the update! Enjoy!

Now on with the fic! And if I make any stupid errors, cold someone point them out to me and help me correct them? I've not written a fic like this before.

######################### 5 months later #################################  
  
Mokuba finally convinced that Seto wasn't about to kill himself, the whistle blew and a 'Blue Eyes White Dragon', a 'Red Eyes Black Dragon', two 'Koromis', a 'Ocubeam', a 'Harpies Pet Dragon', and a 'Winged Dragon, Guardian Of The Fortress #2' flew off the starting grid at top speed.  
  
"Go Joey!" Yugi shouted from the sidelines as his best friend zoomed up behind Seto, who was in the lead, With Mai close on his tail.  
  
"First the worst, second the best!" Tristen shouted from just behind Yugi.  
  
"Hey! Watch your mouth, and who's in the lead!" Mokuba shouted over the noise of the crowd from where he was stood next to Têa.  
  
"Well I think Tristen's right!" Serenity shouted, cheering loudly with the rest as Joey leveled with Seto at the beginning of the third and final lap.  
  
"What do you think, Yami?" Têa said, turning to her friend.  
  
"Err, Yami?" she said, prodding him in the arm.  
  
Yami snapped out f his 'day dream'.  
  
"This will be close, but I think Seto'll win." He said,  
  
"Not to say Joey hasn't beaten Seto at dragon racing before." He grinned at the shocked faces around him.  
  
"No way, Joey beaten Seto? You're joking!" Mokuba yelled, turning back to the race track to see Seto and Joey cross the finish line, a mer centimeter between the two as the finish tape warped around Flame's nose.  
  
"Hey, pharaoh! Fancy seeing you here!" A white haired thief yelled as he ran up to them, tailing his Hikari.  
  
"Sorry we couldn't get here faster! What have we missed?" Ryou yelled over the din from the crowd as people rushed onto the track to congratulate Joey on the close win.  
  
"Joey won! He beat Kaiba!" Another blond yelled, running up to Ryou with his yami behind him.  
  
"I kinda guessed you two psychos would be here." Yami growled, then he stiffened and glanced around,  
  
"Tomb Robber, can you sense Shadow Magic, or is it just a side affect from the due disks?"  
  
"I can sense it too," Ryou muttered, Yugi nodding in agreement.  
  
And that's when people started to scream.  
  
A dark swirling cloud of what looked like thick fog, only it was black and navy, punctuated with sparks of purple, was growing over the canyon area they were using for a racetrack.  
  
"Alright, what the bloody hell did you three do!" Seto yelled, pushing his way through the crowds towards the three Egyptians and their hikari's.  
  
"You think we did this!?" Yami yelled, gesturing to the 'cloud'  
  
"Well these things only seem to happen when you're around! Now whatever it is, get rid of it! Now!"  
  
"I don't even know what it is! Apart from Shadow Magic, and as I didn't conger it, I can't get rid of it!"  
  
It was then that the 'cloud' descended and engulfed the area, and all within it.  
  
All they could see was black, all the could here was a rushing in their ears, and all they could feel was air, but it felt thick, almost like candy floss.  
  
Then it all stopped, and when they opened their eyes, all they could see was sand, ranging in all directions all around them, was sand, and sand dunes blocked all the horizons except one.  
  
"What's that?" Joey said, pointing off into the distance.  
  
"More to the point, where are we and why are it so hot?" Seto said as Joey, Yugi, Ryou, and Tristen pulled their shirts off, only to realize they were all the same creamy yellow and covered in dirt.  
  
"Yami!" Yugi gasped, staring at his yami.  
  
"What the hell am I wearing?!" Seto suddenly exclaimed, looking down at the fine, purple-silken robe he was wearing. More like a dress than something, a guy would ware. And that's when it clicked in Yami's mind. He looked down at the kilt and jewelry he was wearing, and saw why it made Yugi gasp and stare like he did.  
  
"My lords!" Came a shout from the direction of the far off city Joey had pointed out.  
  
"Why are you this far out? And with these slaves and criminals, and with no weaponry! One of these low-lives could have killed you!"  
  
"We got caught in some shadow magic, and since when has it been any business of yours who I go hunting with? Or for. Take these three back to the palace, the rest are coming to, but I want those guarded." He said, gesturing first at Malik, Marik, and Bakura, then to the others.  
  
"And what do you mean with no weaponry?" he said, glancing to Seto's belt.  
  
"We have our items. The rod and puzzle are all we need, a lot less hassle than bows arrows and swords. Now," he said, jumping onto one of the chariots the men had been ridding,  
  
"Palace, I'll deal with this lot when we get there."  
  
The others followed his lead, climbing onto the chariots, Seto taking the reigns of one, Yami the other.  
  
"You sure you know how to drive this thing?" Mai whispered to Seto,  
  
"I could do it if you can't remember."  
  
"I remember quite fine thank you." Seto snapped, turning to glare at  
her, before following Yami, slightly to the rear and left side of his  
chariot.


	4. The Tunnel

Heyz! I have a new system, I am not typing it out here, go read my bio; info, story news and anything that isn't my incessant waffle is at the bottom above my authored stories.

Review! (I am seriously getting put off this story. And the fact I'm hardly getting any reviews doesn't help. This is hard for me to write you know people!)

BloodMistress: Really?! I think this story sucks like a hoover, but as long as my reviewers are happy!

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"Pst! Malik, Marik! Let's go, if we hang around we'll end up regretting it." Bakura hissed, slipping a dagger out of one of the guards' belt.

"What about your hikari?"

"He'll be fine with Yugi, not that I like leaving him. We, on the other hand, will have major problems if we stick around. I'll go get him later."

"You're right, ok, let's move!"

"Hey! Come back here!" A guard shouted as the three jumped over the side of the chariot, beginning to scramble to their feet.

"Oh fuck" Malik muttered, spotting the guards running after them.

"Forget it Malik, just run!"

Malik nodded, beginning to run after the two yamis.

"Down here!" Bakura suddenly yelled, grabbing Malik's arm and steering him down into a cave behind his yami.

"Stop!" Marik commanded, flinging his arms out and catching the other two.

"Why?" Malik muttered, frowning.

"Do you want to fall down there?!" Marik growled, gesturing at a large hole in the floor, the bottom of which none of them could see.

"Ah. So what do we do now?"

"Jump. Here." Bakura said, throwing a long pole at Malik.

"You've got to be joking. No way am I jumping over that! I can't even see the other side! I wouldn't even have seen that if Marik didn't know it was there! Where the hell are we anyway? Where are we going?" Malik exclaimed, glaring around at the cave they were in.

"And why is it so dark?" He added, blinking and not remembering running so far in that he wouldn't be able to see light from the entrance.

"Well, If you don't want to jump, you can just stay here and die, cause those guards have shut us in here, that's why it's dark. We'll go back and shift that boulder in a week or so, so we have this escape rout again. The other side of this isn't so far away; it's easy to make the jump, unless you're a wimp. To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten that was there to, so we all owe Marik now. We are in a cave at the East Side of the desert, and the palace thinks this has a solid back. We got shut in here and made a tunnel through the back, that tunnel is hopefully still there, and it leads to an alleyway in the slums, our hideout isn't far from there." Bakura explained,

"Does that answer everything? Or are we playing twenty questions?" He added with a snarl and a raised eyebrow.

"I still don't want to jump over that."

"Malik. I'm not being stupid; you have more of a chance of living if you just jump. Me or 'Kura'll go first, then you can see how far it is, ok?"

"I suppose."

"Fine then, I'll go, but if you wimp out I'm leaving you." Bakura snarled, taking a few steps back and raising the pole above his shoulder on the right side. The albino then ran forward, and pushed off the very edge of the pit, digging the pole firmly into the dirt at the other side and pulling himself the rest of the way over, landing crouched, before standing up and turning back to the other two.

"Go on Malik." Marik said slightly irritably, giving his hikari a small shove. Malik copied Bakura's actions, making it safely to the other side, followed by Marik.

"This way. And don't touch anything. This is an old tomb, it's full of traps." Bakura said as he started off, the other two following.

"Tomb? You mean of a pharaoh?! Why the hell are we just walking through here then?! I've heard Marik and Ishizo talk about all sorts of horrible curses on the earlier tombs!"

"Malik, since when have you been such a wimp?! It's a fucking tomb! There is nothing in here except an old coffin! This place has been done over by loads of people, most of the traps and curses have been activated or didn't exist in the first place, just hurry up!"

Malik sped up a bit, walking in between Marik and Bakura.

"Stop here a minute." Bakura muttered, before crouching down and pressing on the dirt, finally he stood up with a satisfied smirk, a small passageway opening at his feet.

"You first Malik. There's nothing down there." The thief said with another smirk, gesturing at the hole.

Malik nodded slightly and crouched down, crawling through the little opening and almost at once being plunged into complete darkness, he crawled a little way forward and waited. A small amount of light came through as the door was opened again, then again and a harsh hand slapped his behind, causing him to try and turn, cursing, only to hit his head on the wall, cursing more as he began to crawl.

"How long is this tunnel?!" Malik growled after what felt like hours, crouching lower so as not to hit his head on the steadily lowering roof.

"'Bout double what we've already crawled." Marik replied with a snarl.

"We've only been down here about 20minutes. Stop complaining!" Bakura mumbled, suddenly bumping into Malik's behind.

"What the fuck's the problem now?!"

"I can't get through, it's too low." Malik muttered,

"What do you mean, 'too low'?!" Bakura almost shouted, feeling his anger rise again, Malik was going to be in so much trouble when they got out of here if he held them up much more.

"It's only about 30cm high, I'll get stuck."

"No you won't! You're smaller than Marik, and me, and we used to use this tunnel all the time! Get on your stomach, pull yourself along with your hands, and push with your feet! And if you dare kick meâ€!" Bakura left that threat hanging; Malik knew what he was likely to do.

"Ok, I'm going."

About half an hour later, Malik stopped again. His hands were covered in blood and dirt, they were scratched, and almost numb, he was not crawling any further! It was then an angry hiss filled his ears, and he froze, not daring to breathe.

"Bakura. You didn't tell me there was a Sand Winder burrow down here!" Malik hissed, remaining still.

"Just keep crawling, we're almost at the exit."

Just wanting to get away, Malik began to pull himself along again, ignoring the complaints his body was screaming at him. Not much further along the tunnel his hands touched stone.

"It's blocked." He muttered. He could still here the snake hissing somewhere; it must be behind his yami.

"Right, up the left hand side there should be a small hole, just up from that there should be a stone, pull the stone down and the door'll open." Bakura said, Malik instantly following the instructions.

"It won't budge!" Malik growled, pushing down on the stone as hard as he could.

"Just keep trying, it'll move eventually. You ok back there Marik, or is that snake giving you problems?"

"No, it's ok, I just kicked it in the head, it's knocked out."

"Ok, now hurry up Malik!"

"I'm trying! There!" And with that last triumphant yell, the floor Beneath Malik gave out and he fell, a startled cry escaping his lips.


	5. The Palace

One Review. -- I'm just starting to like this fic! Come on people!

BloodMistress: Glad you at least like this fic. &Huggles& This is one long chapter and it took me ages! All for you!

* * *

The tunnel sloped steeply down, twisting and turning, bowling Malik head over heels, hitting his head and various other parts of his anatomy as he fell. Eventually he could see daylight ahead and the putrid stench of waste filled his nose. The smell was so strong it was making his eyes water, so he closed them, one hand coming up to hold his nose, then he was falling, finally landing with a thump on something warm and squishy. He kept his eyes closed, the red light of the sun blinding him through his eyelids.

"Get up Malik!"

"And don't think you're coming in our den stinking like that!" Bakura snarled. It was then that Malik realized what he must have been lying on. He jumped up, his eyes shooting open, only to be blinded by the sun and get an instant migraine from moving to fast and being dehydrated.

"I'm not complaining, but when are we eating and when can I get something to drink?" Malik grumbled as he squinted against the sun, picking bits of rubbish out of his hair and off his clothes.

"We'll get something to eat and drink in a bit, but after today you feed and water yourself. You learn to steal today, you learn to sneak around today, and if you don't, neither your yami or me will be giving up what we get for you. We may live together, but we certainly don't steal for each other. And Marik, if you do starve because you're giving him food, it's none of my business." Bakura snarled, beginning to walk towards a huge wall, Marik following him, muttering a quick;

"'Kura's right, I'm not fending for you, here I'm alive, so I don't have to worry about you. You've lived in Egypt before, pick up on old habits."

"What?! Living underground and never seeing daylight?! I don't know how to steal! I know nothing of this life!" Malik shouted, feeling tears of frustration in his eyes. He couldn't believe his yami was being so, uncaring. It made him seriously doubt their relationship for the first time as he began to follow.

"Shut your trap! We're the two most wanted people in The Two Lands! Use your brain and don't shout about it! We're right next to the palace!" Bakura hissed angrily, turning to glare at the hikari. Malik raised an eyebrow, his look clearly saying that if either of them pushed him, he'd scream it at the top of his lungs.

"This way, and keep quiet!" Marik hissed, walking in the shadows of the wall, treading carefully over the rubbish.

Malik followed, keeping close to the wall and staying in shadow, glancing out over the beach area to his left where piles of mud were standing, looking like huge anthills.

Suddenly a wooden hatch opened higher up the wall and a flow of rotten fruit and bread mixed with human waste flowed out, narrowly missing a cursing Bakura. Marik and Malik giggled, as Bakura cursed more and began to move faster, scrambling over the refuse. Then, as Malik watched, swarms of ragged people ran up from the small mud huts, mats flying off some of them that had obviously been sleeping outside. The mass of people ran towards the mess that had just been dumped, catching Malik completely by surprise as they stampeded into him, knocking him down into the mess as they scrabbled for food.

Cursing vehemently and struggling against the hordes, he finally managed to pull himself back to his feet and push his way through the crowd in the direction he had last seen the two yamis heading. Once through the mass, he spotted the two, doubled over, laughing their heads off, almost falling over, and leaning against each other. Rage and indignation filling him, he ran at them, hitting the pair squarely with one shoulder in each of their stomachs, knocking them flying, and blessing the rugby practices he was forced to attend at school.

"Ok, now we're equal and the guards have had time to go back to whatever it is they do, we'll be getting back into the city." Marik said, smirking at his hikari and best friend.

"What do you mean, 'whatever it is they do'? They guard the pharaoh don't they?"

"No, that's how we manage to get through the palace all the time!" Marik sniggered in reply to his hikari.

"Are you two coming?!" Bakura shouted, his hand against a solid looking wall. The two nodded and jogged up to him, Marik smirking,

"Do your stuff then 'Kura!" Marik giggled, smirking at the other.

"Give it a rest! And you know we'll get spotted really easily without our usual stuff."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I'm saying, just get on with it, the guards have just had lunch so they'll be asleep if we're lucky." Marik said, making Bakura frown slightly, a questioning look in his eyes as he put his ear to the wall, hearing nothing, he closed his eyes, and walked straight through the wall. Malik blinked slightly, not believing what he'd just seen.

"Are you going to stand there all day?! Come on!" Marik shouted, beckoning towards a big wooden gate that was beginning to open. Once they got there the two slipped through the small gap, their feet echoing slightly on the polished stone floor.

"This way." Bakura muttered, beginning to move noiselessly up the passageway, stopping at a corner and listening intently for any sounds. All that could be heard was a light snoring. Malik had to giggle slightly, how Yami managed not to get assassinated with this sort of people for guards amazed him.

They moved around the corner and started to jog silently down the corridor, Malik marveling at the solid gold statues, magnificently painted walls and exquisite vases that lined the walls. Halfway down the corridor they all had to slip behind separate vases and statues to avoid a few guards, but as soon as they passed the trio started off again, senses pricked for anything. At the end of this corridor, they came to a large open area with several doors leading off it.

"'Kura! What in Duat did you bring us here for?!" Marik hissed, looking around fearfully.

"To get Ryou." Bakura replied scathingly,

"You two go if you want."

"You know full well I don't know my way out of here!" Marik snapped, maybe a little too loudly, of course, as is always the case, he realized this fact too late.

"Who's there?!"

"Oh fuck it! Not again Marik!" Bakura scowled, glaring at said person who had his back to him, his hand in his belt.

"You won't be able to fight them! Let's just run!" Malik pleaded, looking between the two yamis.

"You want to bet on that?" Bakura scowled, tossing a small dagger to Malik.

"You go get Ryou, and think before you push just any door open! These are the chambers of not only guests, but lower priests and head guards."

"Oh that's just great! What are you trying to do?! Get me killed?!" Malik growled, snarling at Bakura.

"No, if you wanna fight twenty armed guards with that dagger, I'll go and find Ryou." Bakura smirked, knowing the hikari's answer full well, his guess was confirmed as Malik glanced around at the doors.

"Priest, priest, priest, guard, guard, priestess, guest!" Malik muttered, practically jumping for joy as he ran towards the door, pushing it open with a heavy shove. Once inside he didn't bother to look around as he could hear heated fighting outside and knew he didn't have long. He dashed through an opening into a side chamber and instantly saw the boy he was looking for, sprawled out on the bed.

"Ryou! Come on!" Malik shouted, making the white-haired boy jump out of his doze, and, upon hearing the ruckus outside, raise an eyebrow at Malik.

"What are you doing here? What all that noise?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"I would be here under 'master' Bakura's orders, more like threats, I'm here to get you out."

"'Kura's here?!" Ryou exclaimed, jumping up from the bed with a start;

"But I overheard the guards talking about what they would do if they caught any of you in here!" Ryou exclaimed, panic in his eyes.

"Then let's just go!" Malik shouted, he didn't much want to think of what would happen if they were caught. Ryou nodded and walked out of the door, Malik with him as the older yelled at the two yamis;

"Ok, now how the hell do you propose getting out of here?!" Malik shouted, dodging a guards spear narrowly and ducking a clumsy swing at his head, keeping half an eye on Ryou whilst glaring at Bakura and Marik who were fiercely fighting a loosing battle.

"Back in there!" Marik shouted, gesturing back into the guestrooms and running almost instantly after the two hikaris; Bakura following.

Once in the other room Marik stuck his head out of the window, then climbed up onto the sill, turning around and dropping down. Malik yelled slightly, running to the window and peering down. His yami was crouched on a small ledge below. How he'd managed to land on it Malik didn't know, but he was so glad the other was alive, he knew how high up this side of the palace must be, and he was sure the Egyptian had fallen to his death.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Bakura shouted, slicing his dagger in a deadly motion through a guard's neck. Malik whimpered slightly, he didn't want to jump down there, the ledge was so small he was sure he would miss it, then he'd fall down into the Nile, right on top of a out crop of jagged rocks. It was almost like some sort of cartoon he would watch back home, with the crocodiles and jagged rocks and the hero had to make it down safely, but everyone knew he'd be ok. But this wasn't a cartoon. He would die if he hit those rocks.

"Come on Malik!" Marik yelled from the ledge, hooking his foot securely into a small hole so he had some sort of grip on the wall if he had to catch his double.

Malik could feel his heart beating so loudly in his chest, it felt like it would break one of his ribs any second and his palms were sweaty from the heat and nerves. But all the same, he jumped nimbly out of the window and, much to his surprise, landed firmly on the ledge, Marik's warm, comforting arms encircling him firmly, just to make sure he didn't slip, but they still provided great comfort to the smaller one.

Soon after, Bakura jumped out of the same window, landing in the spot that had just been cleared by the other two, Ryou wrapped securely in his left arm, his right gripping the edge so he landed almost cat-like. Malik pouted slightly, no kidding, he was jealous of the smaller of the two albinos. Even here, and in the face of such danger, whereas his yami had just abandoned him, Bakura still cared about his hikari. Malik blinked small tears away as his yami turned to glare at Bakura.

"And what do you propose we do now? Mastermind?" Marik glowered; he was getting distinctly pissed off right about now.

Bakura peered over the ledge; no others made themselves visible below.

"If we don't move those guards'll get onto this ledge through the window down there, then we'll be stuck." Malik said, trying to be helpful, but all he got was a snapped 'I know that!' from Bakura as the spirit let his hikari climb onto his back piggy-back style, and gave Malik an inpatient shove, pushing him into his yami who glared at him.

"Are you trying to shove me off?! Watch what you're doing you idiot!"

Malik whimpered quietly, but he wasn't going to let his yami see how much his rejection was getting to him. Marik began to craw quickly along the ledge, Malik, and Bakura behind him. They passed several windows, and finally, Marik sat down on the edge of the ledge, his legs dangling over the edge, and pushed himself off. Malik wondered for a second what had got into his yami, but when he made it to the edge, he saw the wall below Marik had jumped onto.

"Well now I know your secret Bakura!" Marik yelled with a grin as he dropped off the wall. Bakura gave Malik a harsh shove, causing the hikari to fall unceremoniously and unprepared off the edge of the narrow ledge. By the time Malik realized what had happened, he barely had time to grab the side of the wall, but managed it one handedly, only to have Bakura, still carrying Ryou, drop off the ledge and land heavily on his hand.

Malik cried out, clenching his eyes and trying not to let his now numb fingers let go of the wall. They'd gone that whole loop 'round, and had ended up on top of the wall running along the edge of the wall that marked the edge of the town. He was currently dangling over the rubbish pile they had been at in the first place.

By this time Bakura had started off along the wall and had dropped down, not bothering to help Malik back up the wall. The grumbling Egyptian hikari swung his other hand onto the top of the wall and began the agonizing task of pulling himself up. Now he was atop the wall he ran along it, careful not to lose his footing, and dropped down at the spot he'd seen the other two do so. Only to find them nowhere in sight, but the sight that greeted him left him wondering again if he was ever going to have a 'home' here.


	6. The Aftermath In The Palace

Ok, no reviews for last chapter. Pout. Please review people! I've been told how much you love my other fics, what the heck is wrong with this one?! Please review, even if it's only a few worlds! It won't take you long!

"My lords! Thank Ra you're ok!" A flustered official exclaimed as he ran up to Yami, Seto and the others that were with them.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Yami frowned; looking the official in the eye and making him quail under the stare.

"J... j... just, you just vanished, then we had those bandits in here again, and, and..."

"What do you mean, bandits in here again?! They shouldn't be in here **again**! They shouldn't be in here in the first place! You call yourself head of security and you can't keep a few rats out! You're pathetic! I ought to have you dealt with right here and now! I..."

"Set. Let it go. Beheading my guards isn't about to solve the situation. We need to know how they got in, how they got out, and why they were here. How much of that can you find out?" Yami said calmly the anger gone from him. He never seemed to get angry when he heard of these 'rats' breaking into his palace again, no, he left that to Set. His high priest got angry enough for he both of them.

"Sir! I have the report!" Another guard shouted as he ran up to them, bowing to Yami before turning to the other guard.

"Go ahead."

"Nothing of material value was taken sir, but a guest of the almighty pharaoh Yamasis was taken. That is all sirs."

"A guest? Which one?" Yami muttered to no one in particular.

"The little white haired one."

"Ryou?"

The guard shrugged.

"Ok, you may go. I want to know as soon as possible how they got in and out, and then we can start to think about catching them next time."

The guards nodded and left.

"Yami, you go way too easy on them! You're never gonna catch these vagabonds like this!" Set exclaimed as soon as the guards were round there corner and out of earshot. Even though he was high priest, calling the Pharaoh 'Yami' could still get him in serious trouble.

"Set, calm yourself. I will catch them in my own way and time. Now, go do whatever it is you do with your spare time. Oh, and one more thing Set, your new priestess messed up. You need to go to the shrine dedicated to the worship of Anubis. You're new priestess left the fruit to rot in the sun, and, with the resent passing of my father, I would appreciate it if Anubis were not angry with us. Next time she does something like this, tell her, the consequences will be severe. That is all."

"Yes my lord." Set said; bowing slightly before turning to leave, this new girl was proving nothing but trouble. Téa, was the name Set remembered her giving, why could she not remember anything?! She was going to get him in some serious trouble, and herself, didn't she understand that?! She hadn't even been in the palace a week! And she was under supervision, oh why did he trust her?! Why did he let her finish that one time?!

"Why am I surrounded by morons?" Set glared as he stalked out into the baking sun which was currently high in the sky, marking the time at about 2pm.

"Surely we're not **_all_** morons."

Set recognised that voice instantly. She had some nerve!

"Look, whatever your name is, I don't care right now, the pharaoh just told me fruit, and other offerings were left to rot in the temple of Anubis again. I know it was you, you tended that shrine last! And another thing, Yami told me to tell you that if you mess up again you're gonna have major problems on your hands! Now go sort it!"

"Why should I? When I know your secret?" Téa said, frowning. This guy really had such a big ego and no brains.

"Oh crap." Set muttered, realising what he'd just said.

"Now now Set, that's not very becoming of a priest, or of the pharaoh's lover for that matter. Now Set, I know pet names are great in private and in the bedroom, but you really shouldn't use them just anywhere where anyo..."

Set clamped his hands over the girl's mouth. Holy shit, this was not his day. The young priest groaned as several guards and counsel members came over, having heard everything, including his little slip. Set also recognised these Counsel members as ones that thought Yami would bring the two lands to ruin, and so wanted him and Set dead. The brunette didn't know particularly why he was a target, but he assumed it was to do with the fact he was next in line to take the throne and because of his extraordinary Shadow Powers. Either way....

"What's going on here?! I just told you to go search the city! Why are you stood around here bugging my priests?! Get a move on before I make you!" Yami ordered as he stormed up to the group. The young pharaoh had no idea what had just happened, no he'd been down in the torture chambers. He knew full well it wasn't usual for pharaohs to punish their captives themselves, but he did sometimes, so right now he had a whip clasped idly in one hand. And right before that he'd been to the armoury; they'd told him they'd developed a new weapon especially for him. Two short curved swords with disc shaped hand-guards that had one bar through the middle for the user to hold. They fitted his fighting style nicely, and he was planning to try them out with Set right after going to the dungeons, so they were in their holders on opposite hips. He was also in his usual light armour, making him eye-catching to everyone there, only for different reasons.

Set couldn't deny it now. Seeing Yami in his battle gear - a leather, knee length 'skirt' and knee high boots, along with a leather top that met the skirt coupled with the leather gloves that reached just above his elbows, all of which was made from the finest, toughest and most flexible leather available, all allowing fluent movement, all the russet brown that the leather was. Set couldn't deny how good Yami looked then, the whip clasped in his left hand as he leant to one side, idly tapping his left foot; the only thing that spoilt it was the glare on his beautiful face as he looked over the guards and counsel members before him.

"We were just leaving the city to search when we heard an argument. We only came over to check, my pharaoh." One of the counsel members simpered, but Set could see it made no impression on Yami.

"My pharaoh! This priest...!" Téa exclaimed, finally wrenching Set's hand away from her mouth and glaring at him

"Is my finest priest, closest friend and advisor and I can tell you now he's done nothing wrong. Now the lot of you get lost, get out of my sight!" Yami shouted, finishing Téa's sentence for her and watching them all out of sight before turning back to Set, who had a small smirk dancing on his face.

"I saved you for a reason that I will - at least for now - keep to myself, Set. Now, let's go down to the training area, I could use a worthy opponent to help me try these out." The young pharaoh said firmly, but friendly, giving a small smile as he gestured to his new daggers. He always loved fighting Set. The priest was almost like an elder brother to him, Yami felt he could tell his friend anything, they would fight together, and it would eventually result in a friendly braw before a trip to the small oasis at the edge of the palace grounds. That was Yami's special place, even though, by the guide lines set by his father's father, he wasn't allowed there. Well, it was outside palace grounds, but Yami had claimed it as his own, and loved it there. There were palm trees surrounding the area, a cool pool in the middle, with a small beach-like area.

"It would be my pleasure, my pharaoh." Set muttered, nodding to Yami to lead the way. It was true they both had deep feelings for each other, but neither had confessed those feelings to the other.


	7. AN

Hey everyone! Well… hopefully there are some of you here to read this still… it'd mean a lot to me if there were… this is just a note to say that I've lost my park for this fandom. That doesn't mean I'm gonna stop writing though; I'm gonna try and finish the fics already posted and delete the ones that're really a lost cause, then I'm gonna give myself a break. Believe it or not; this sickeningly long time of non-posting-ness doesn't mean I haven't been writing; just not posting… cause it's mostly sucked. So yeah… this is just a note to say I'm gonna try and wrap up here, have a break and move onto another fandom or two… I'm thinking Kingdom Hearts as a definite and maybe Final Fantasy VII/VIII… you'll all have to see.

Another reason for me to have a break is that my compu very rudely told me this morning in no uncertain terms that I've been over using it. In other words it destroyed the Windows program and I don't have a rescue disc… meaning new compu and no stories that I've been working so hard on… it also means fighting with the over-qualified monkeys at my local PC World branch. Yay.

Many snuggles to all my wonderful reviewers who I've been neglecting so horribly, and a huge sankuu to everyone else who's read my work; I'll hopefully see you all again before the year is out!

Ja ne!


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